Born in Paris in 1923, Charlotte discovered yoga later in life, when most might believe the body has already said its goodbyes to flexibility. “I liked it right away,” she once said in an interview. “It brought me peace.” At the time, she was in her 50s. Yoga, to her, wasn’t about becoming younger. It was about becoming more aware.
On a day when the world marks International Yoga Day with mass demonstrations, digital challenges, and celebrity sessions, Charlotte Chopin reminds us of something quietly profound, that yoga is not a performance, but a way of life. At 101, she continues her daily practice not for show, but for soul.
Charlotte first came to India in the early 1970s, drawn by a deepening curiosity about consciousness and a search for spiritual grounding. She settled in Auroville, the experimental city founded by Mirra Alfassa, where yoga was a way of daily life and inner exploration. Over the decades, she quietly became a mentor, guiding hundreds through yoga, especially elderly residents and those in recovery.
In 2022, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour. “During the last three years, I did not seek or plan anything,” she reflected. “Media and honours came to me.”
The recognition took many by surprise, not because she wasn’t deserving, but because Charlotte had never run a yoga school, authored books, or pursued fame. Her work was local, deeply personal, and profoundly impactful. For her, yoga was about mindfulness, breath, and stillness. “It is not only about doing postures,” she told a media person. “It is about being present, about how we live each day.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi even acknowledged her in his Mann Ki Baat address, saying, “She is a yoga teacher and is over 100 years old… She credits her health and long life to yoga.”
Indeed, longevity seems to have followed Charlotte quietly, not as a goal, but as a side effect of gentle living. She avoids rich foods, prefers silence over noise, and believes in walking barefoot on the earth. Auroville residents often see her cycling through the quiet lanes or meditating beneath trees. “She has the energy of someone half her age,” says Pranav, a long-time Auroville resident. “But more importantly, she radiates peace.”
Her approach to yoga is inclusive and accessible. “Start where you are,” she has often told her students. “Even if you only breathe mindfully for ten minutes a day, that is yoga.” There are no advanced poses, no acrobatics, and no pressure to perform. “Yoga is listening to your body,” she once said. “And through it, listening to life.”
This year, on International Yoga Day, Charlotte Chopin won’t be speaking at a mega yoga camp or appearing on television panels. “I’ll be in my garden,” she smiled when asked. “That’s enough for me.”
In an age of noise and display, Charlotte’s story is a whisper, and yet, one that stays with you long after it’s told. A century lived, not in haste, but in breath. As the world bends and stretches in celebration today, perhaps the most meaningful tribute to yoga lies in simply sitting still.
And breathing.
Just as Charlotte Chopin has done, for over 50 years.
